Question
How many books are in the Bible? (People expect one number, but different Christian traditions count differently.)
Analysis
The counts by tradition
| Tradition | Old Testament | New Testament | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protestant | 39 | 27 | 66 |
| Roman Catholic | 46 (39 + 7 deuterocanonical) | 27 | 73 |
| Eastern Orthodox | ~49–52 (varies by church) | 27 | ~76–79 |
| Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo | ~54 (narrower canon) | 27 | ~81 |
The New Testament column never changes, the 27-book New Testament is shared by all major Christian traditions. Every disagreement is about which Old Testament books belong. (The Orthodox and Ethiopian numbers are given as ranges on purpose: those churches count and group some books differently, so published totals vary a few books either way.)
The Protestant 39 + 27
- The 39 Old Testament books are exactly the books of the Hebrew Bible, the same content, counted differently. Jewish tradition combines several of them (the twelve Minor Prophets as one book, Samuel/Kings/Chronicles/Ezra–Nehemiah as single books) to reach 24 books, but it is the same collection, not a shorter one.
- Jesus refers to this Hebrew canon by its traditional three-part shape, "the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms" (Luke 24:44), the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings.
- The 27 New Testament books (Gospels, Acts, letters, Revelation) settled into their final list over the first four centuries and are received in common by Protestants, Catholics, and the Orthodox.
The disputed books (deuterocanonical / Apocrypha)
The seven books Catholics count beyond the Protestant 39, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, plus additions to Esther and Daniel, were part of the Septuagint (the ancient Greek Old Testament) used by many early Christians, but were not in the Hebrew canon.
- Those who accept them call them deuterocanonical ("second canon") and regard them as Scripture. The Roman Catholic Church fixed this list at the Council of Trent (1546).
- Those who exclude them call them the Apocrypha ("hidden/withheld"). The Protestant Reformers followed the Hebrew Old Testament and set these books aside, many early Protestant Bibles still printed them in a separate section as useful but not authoritative.
- The Eastern Orthodox accept these and several more; the Ethiopian canon is broader again.
This is a genuine, long-standing difference between traditions. This reference states the counts and the reasons each tradition gives, and takes no side on which canon is correct.
The … texts
Two verses are often quoted in canon discussions, and both should be read carefully:
- Revelation 22:18; Revelation 22:19 warns against adding to or taking from "this book." In its immediate context this refers to the book of Revelation (or its prophecy), not the whole Bible, the full 66/73-book collection did not yet exist as one volume when John wrote. It is a warning about faithfulness to that prophecy, later applied by extension.
- Deuteronomy 4:2 gives a similar command not to add to or take away from about the commandments God gave Israel.
Neither verse settles the number of books; the canon was recognized by the community over time, not fixed by a single proof-text. Scripture also shows the collection growing, Peter already refers to Paul's letters alongside "the other Scriptures" (2 Peter 3:15; 2 Peter 3:16), and "all Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16) describes the writings' character without listing them.